2014 Paralympic Winter Games

2014 Paralympic Winter Games

Sochi, Russia

The 2014 Paralympic Winter Games will be held March 7-16, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Sochi, the host city, has a population of 400,000 and is located in the third largest region in Russia – Krasnodar.

Team USA athletes will compete in the following sports at the Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi:

Alpine Skiing - skiing, snowboarding

Biathlon

Cross-Country Skiing

Sled Hockey

Wheelchair Curling

The origins of the Paralympic Games were influenced by World War II, which brought a new outlook on the issue of rehabilitation for people with disabilities and are credited to neurologist and neurosurgeon, Professor Ludwig Guttmann who founded a medical center at Stoke-Mandeville Hospital (UK) for the treatment of people with spinal cord injuries in 1944. Later, Guttman became a founder of the International Stoke-Mandeville games for people with injuries of the locomotor apparatus – the prototype for the Paralympic Games.

The first Paralympic Winter Games took place in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.